


The Next Chapter

by tothefoolswhodream



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: F/M, Memories, Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:46:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23807104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tothefoolswhodream/pseuds/tothefoolswhodream
Summary: At the top was Katherine’s old typewriter. It had served her all throughout her writing career, and retired when she did. For some reason, Katherine wouldn’t get rid of it, even if it was decades old.~in which Katherine Plumber Pulitzer looks back at her life one last time before moving on~
Relationships: Jack Kelly & Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Jack Kelly/Katherine Plumber
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	The Next Chapter

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while ago, and sort of cleaned it up now.

Katherine groaned as she knelt down. 85 years of life - exuberant life - had that kind of toll on someone. But nothing ever stopped her when she put her mind to something. Even though she had promised herself that she wouldn’t open the box after Jack’s death, she decided that it wouldn’t be bad to see it one last time.

The chest was large, dusty, and worn, but still sturdy and beautiful. Delicate vines covered the lid, and brass flowers dotted the vines. Katherine’s mother had given it to her when Katherine and Jack had gotten married, saying that she should store her special trinkets in there.

At the top was Katherine’s old typewriter. It had served her all throughout her writing career, and retired when she did. For some reason, Katherine wouldn’t get rid of it, even if it was decades old. The letters on the keys were almost completely worn away, but that didn’t ever deter her, since she knew exactly which letter was on each key.

Next to it were five neatly folded outfits. They were the first communion outfits, from each of Katherine’s and Jack’s five children. White and lacy, they were about to be used again, not by Katherine’s kids or grandkids, but by her great grandkids. Katherine smiled as she stroked the delicate lace.

Nestled in the corner was a little box. Inside was a onesie and a baby rattle, along with the only photo they had of the little girl who never saw her first birthday. 

A sharp Marine Corps hat was right under it, along with a roll of papers tied with a blue ribbon. The first one Katherine saw was written in Jack’s messy scrawl, creased and worn. “She walks in beauty,” it read, “like the night/Of cloudless climes and starry skies;/And all that’s best of dark and bright/Meet in her aspect and her eyes.” Lord Byron’s lilting poem had always been Katherine’s favorite, and Jack knew that. Reading those words had brought her a semblance of comfort, though the oceans divided them. 

A simple dress lay folded neatly, yellowed with time. The lacy sleeves and skirt were intact, with the small pearls creating a design as beautiful to her as it was the day she had worn it. The flower crown she had worn was carefully dried and rested on top.

So much time had passed since that day. Three wars had been fought, and two world wars. The Spanish flu killed a fifth of the world’s population. The Great Depression had plunged the nation’s economy for almost a decade. 

There were the hard times. But there were happy times too. Katherine had seen the rise of film, the rise of computers, and the rise of humans triumphing over pure, unadulterated evil.

Many years earlier, a group of rag-tag boys said, “Courage does not erase our fear. Courage is when we face our fear.”

Through their lives, they faced fear and defeated it.

At the very bottom of the chest lay a disintegrating newspaper which bore the headline of “NEWSIES STOP THE WORLD!” Jack and the newsies stood staring at her, fierce determination in their young, innocent faces. A grin crept onto her face at that picture as the memories washed over her.

After a brief moment of reflection, Katherine put it all back, wiping away a couple stray tears. At the very top, she added a photo, a family photo, with everyone, a smile adorning all of their beaming faces. Then she put in the large, leather-bound family Bible. She was ready, she knew. She hastily scribbled a note:

“This is for Edith. Love, Mother.”

She smiled, a tear dripping down as she slowly shut the lid. She reached out and touched Jack’s face on the newspaper that she had kept out, still held tightly in her hand.

“Katherine!” a voice exclaimed from behind her. “What are you doin’, moonin’ over a young man like that? Youse married.” 

Katherine laughed, a full belly laugh that still had the trace of a few tears. She turned and saw him, her one true love, smirking back at her. He stepped closer, pretending to take a closer look at the photo.

“Well, youse definitely chose the most han’some young’un for your affections.” 

He still hadn’t changed, even after all that time, Katherine noticed wistfully. Especially his awful talking. No matter how hard Katherine tried, he never even tried to clean up his grammar. 

“We had a good time, didn’t we?” Katherine smiled fondly. “There were hard times, but it always worked out in the end, didn’t it?” 

“It did.”

Silence reigned over them for a few minutes.

“Well, youse wants to come wi’ me now? That young’un may be so-so but I’m devilishly good lookin’, don’t you ‘gree?”

He held out his hand, and without a moment's hesitation, Katherine took it, her eyes sparkling.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you again, my Ace,” he whispered thickly, wrapping his arms around her.

“I told you that we’d see each other again!” she indignantly exclaimed, trying valiantly to hide the same thickness in her voice.

Jack’s smile lit up his entire face, and it looked like a light in a dark room. Together, they ascended the stairs to the sky, ready to start a new chapter together.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos and comments inspire me. :)


End file.
